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Topic Review (Newest First)

10-30-2001 08:03 PM

FTHOMSON

The "Plan"-response

Hi Jeff...

I''ve already encountered that :-( as I had to replace half the plugs on the deck and a couple on the toerail. It''s a trade-off, varnishing or oiling versus diligence on plug maintenence and deck calking.

10-30-2001 03:20 AM

Jeff_H

The "Plan"-response

One minor point, Fred. It is not a good idea to let your teak ''go grey''. Varinsih on rails and trim help to protect the plugs over fastening from deterioration. Once water gets into the fastenings on the Cheoy Lee this can quickly lead to the type of corrosion that can do in the wood around it. Even oiling is better than going grey as it stabilizes that wood a bit.

Respectfully
Jeff

10-30-2001 01:31 AM

FTHOMSON

The "Plan"-response

Hi...
I can relate to this. I started upon the Plan about 25 months ago and currently I am about 23 months away from lifting the hook. I am currently working overseas.
I purchased my 35'' Cheoy Lee in April of this year. It is a 1979 and was completely rebuilt in 1995/96 but still required a ton of little things. The original survey showed her to sound but with some wiring problems. After many hours with volt meter in hand I have all but one either repaired or replaced. The rigging has been inspected and tuned. I hired a rigger for this and he taught me as we went. Expensive? Yes but now I know a great deal more about rigging. "Polonaise" has been stripped of all the finish on her woodwork and I am going to allow the teak to go grey. I have gone over my boat from bow to stern and from keel to masthead and I am confident that I know her well enough to handle the problems that are going to occur.
I''ve moderate sailing experience so I took a skipper''s course to augment my skills. My girlfriend is currently taking her ASA Skipper''s course. We''ve both taken enough first aid course to qualify as Medics. And still there is so much to do.

I''ve not mentioned everything (there are already books upon books on this topic)that is needed to go Cruising but I am sure you get the idea. In my ''long-winded'' way I am trying to say that I agree with Jeff. There is no substitute for doing it yourself.

By the way, I also work in the I.S. field and am used to hiring consultants but I look at it this way. When you''re 1000 miles off shore: Who ya gonna call? :-)

Cheers
-Fred

10-27-2001 04:14 AM

Jeff_H

The "Plan"-response

Congratulations! It sounds like you have gotten past the easy part of your list of chores ahead of schedule. Hopefully the rest of timeline will go as smoothly.

Jeff

10-26-2001 05:47 PM

egallant

The "Plan"-response

Wow, it''s been a busy two months since I posted my original message.

We''ve been planning, reading and dreaming non-stop since then. Our house went into escrow this past weekend and we''ve got about 25 days to go before it closes. We had orginally planned on 4-6 months to sell it and move to Florida but it looks like we''ll be there before Christmas, maybe even before Thanksgiving!

I''m excited, it''s finally happening.

08-29-2001 07:47 AM

forthman

The "Plan"-response

I guess you have already hear of "The Gentleman''s Guide to Passages South."

08-28-2001 06:41 PM

egallant

The "Plan"-response

Eric (and Jeff) -

That is certainly sound advice that I will follow. I plan to be as self-sufficient as possible and learn all there is to know about my boat.

I added Bill Seirfert''s book to my Amazon wish list, I should have it shortly after it reachs them. Do you have any other suggestions for books?

Thanks!

08-28-2001 04:49 AM

JeffH

The "Plan"-response

I think that Eric has hit the nail on the head here. The more you do yourself during fitout, the more you will be able to in extremeis. So while there are people called ''Outfitters'' who can act as a general contractor to help get a boat put togther, I do not recommend this as an optimum way to go fit out or go cruising, it is only a last recourse way to go cruising more quickly.

Fitting out on the West Coast of Florida would probably be less expensive than on the East Coast.

Jeff

08-27-2001 04:09 PM

kimberlite

The "Plan"-response

pete,
outfitting your boat yourself for cruising i feel is essential. you can''t call a mechanic up if you are 500 miles from land. knowing how all the systems work and all the wires , valves, pipes and switches are i believe is critical . i personally rebuilt kimberlite and have found many times when something broke - and they do break- i knew exactly what was necessary to repair it. for example--on my last trip south to bermuda we lost our alternator in a full gale in huge seas. knowing how to reinstall the alternator and circumvent the smart regulator allowed us to have electronics , refrigeration, running lights and autopilot for the balance of the trip. another time coming up from st thomas we noticed a lot of water in the bilge we quickly eliminated the obvious and found a leaking rudder post stuffing box. we easily repacked the rudder post box. not knowing about these simple things can cause a miserable passage.

on a location note, i bought kimberlite in st pete and found there were many good craftsmen on the west coast. it is also a nice spot to take off from. one boat i looked was owned buy an 80 year old man who made annul trips to the bahamas with his 80 year old wife. he logged 30,000 between st pete and the carribbean between the ages of 70-80. so i guess you can cruise from the west coast . its only a couple of days to the east coast and going through the keys is a nice way to start any passage.

bill seifert has written a book called offshore passagemaking and is a hands on book of how to outfit a boat for offshore. the best i have read. should be in the stores in october. he incidentally ran the tartan, then the j boat then the alden factory has made over 35 passages to bermuda and the caribbean and is a supervisor for outfitting and maintaining many world cruisers.
eric
++++

08-27-2001 02:59 PM

egallant

The "Plan"-response

Jeff -

Don''t worry, I''m not taking anything you say as discouraging. I''m used to working under pressure (12 years in the computer industry will do that!) and I consider myself reasonably "together" enough to make detailed plans and then follow through with them.

My girlfriend and I have been dreaming about this for years, buying the magazines, hanging around the marinas, and reading all the books, it''s only been recently that we really committed ourselves to doing it. Now that we''ve done that, it''s been a constant struggle just hanging on for these last few months before packing up and moving over to Florida. I lived in Clearwater for a few years in the mid-eighties so I have half a mind to go back there and use that as our homebase but I''d prefer the East coast as it''s someplace I''ve never lived and closer to where I want to ultimately depart from.

You mentioned having the boat professionally set up. Is that something that a boat yard could/would do or would surveyor be able to point me towards a person capable of it? In my current line of work I would hire a consultant to do work that I can''t do for a project, would this apply to something like preparing a sailboat for cruising?

And thanks, I appreciate your honest and candid responses.

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